Australian media presenter (1951?2023)
Doug Mulray
|
---|
Born
| Douglas John Mulray
(
1951-12-01
)
1 December 1951
|
---|
Died
| 30 March 2023
(2023-03-30)
(aged 71)
|
---|
Other names
| Uncle Doug
[1]
|
---|
Occupations
| - Comedian
- radio presenter
- television presenter
|
---|
Years active
| 1975?2019
|
---|
Website
| www
.mediaman
.com
.au
/profiles
/mulray
.html
|
---|
Douglas John Mulray
(1 December 1951 ? 30 March 2023) was an Australian comedian, radio, and television presenter. Nicknamed
Uncle Doug
, he grew up in the
Sydney
Northern Beaches
suburb of
Dee Why
. Mulray was well-known for his bawdy humor and charismatic
larrikinism
, with his style of free quips, parodies, and "unbridled naughtiness".
[1]
Radio career
[
edit
]
Mulray started his early years as a salesman travelling in Europe before his father, a lawyer, suggested a career in broadcasting.
[2]
Mulray began his radio career at
2AD
in
Armidale
in September 1975, after taking a broadcasting course at the Digamae (Rod Muir's) Radio School.
[3]
After 6 months he moved to Central Coast station
2GO
in
Gosford
.
[4]
During the mid-1970s he worked on
3AW
Melbourne
with a program called "Mulray & The Man".
[2]
In the late 1970s, he started a permanent job in
Sydney
with the newly formed
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
's
alternative rock
station
2JJ
, in what would evolve in
Triple J
, where he built up a sizeable following. In 1982 he was poached by a new station,
Triple M
.
[5]
Mulray served as breakfast host, which lifted the ratings share from 2.6 percent to a staggering 18 percent. He was known for his fictional characters, including Madam Zenda, who made outlandish comedic predictions about the future; Jack Africa, a man permanently paranoid who was convinced that chooks were out to get him; the Prime Mincer, a parody of the then
Australian PM
Bob Hawke
; and Gloria, who was based on rival broadcaster
Alan Jones
.
[6]
During Mulray's tenure, he brought into the program fellow presenters, writers, and producers, one notable person being
Andrew Denton
, who worked on the show as head writer. Denton considered Mulray as a mentor, and he later stated that Mulray "single-handedly [put] FM radio on the map... the first ever to take a commercial radio station to number 1 against the dominant AM radio."
[6]
After a break from Triple M, Mulray worked for a brief time in the PM
drive-time
slot on
2SM
with
Peter FitzSimons
before moving to Sydney radio station
2WS
, eventually leaving the station in July 1999. He never regained the ratings he enjoyed at his former station Triple M.
[2]
In 2014, industry analyst
Radio Today
rated his breakfast show as the third-best Australian metro FM breakfast show of all time.
[7]
Television career
[
edit
]
In 1992, he hosted the infamous
Australia's Funniest Home Videos
's
spin-off
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos
; however, just halfway though one episode (which itself claimed to be "one
off
special" as in off as "
off-colour
"),
[8]
it was pulled from broadcast by
Nine Network
by owner
Kerry Packer
after 34 minutes, who infamously called the station to "get that shit off the air!".
[9]
Mulray was fired and banned for life the Nine Network as a result. The program's timeslot was replaced by re-runs of American sitcom
Cheers
.
[6]
Mulray, however, would later return to Nine in 2002 to be a part of the special "
Brian Henderson
Toasted and Roasted" (even adding a subtle joke about his ban while Packer was in the audience), and also as judge on the 2005 series
StarStruck
. On
Full Frontal
, this was parodied with a skit of Mulray hosting a lottery draw, making sexual remarks as the balls drop.
[2]
He was also the host of the eponymously titled program
Mulray
, which ran briefly in the early 1990s on the
Seven Network
.
[10]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Doug was part of the
Channel Seven
Australian Touring Car Championship
and
Bathurst 1000
commentary team headed up by Mike Raymond and
Neil Crompton
until Seven lost the rights in 1997.
[11]
In August 2008,
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos
was re-aired on the
Nine Network
. Mulray reportedly refused requests from Nine management to reappear as the host. One commentator wrote that "it may be that Mulray, a very smart man, knew he would have been open to a few cruel comparisons between the relatively youthful Mulray of 1992 and the solitary Mulray of 2008. The years have not been particularly kind."
[12]
Honours
[
edit
]
In 2009, Mulray was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame.
[6]
Personal life and death
[
edit
]
Mulray was married to Lizzie Muir. He died from liver cancer in Sydney on 30 March 2023, at age 71.
[1]
[13]
Tributes were given by radio and media personalities such as Andrew Denton, Peter Switzer, and
Ben Fordham
.
[1]
Discography
[
edit
]
Studio albums
[
edit
]
Singles
[
edit
]
Filmography
[
edit
]
As producer / director:
[15]
- 2004 –
Kurt Elling: Live at the Basement
(TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
- 2003 –
Steve Poltz: Live at the Basement
(Video documentary) (executive producer)
- 2000 –
The Basement
(TV Series) (director, also executive producer of one episode)
- 2000 –
The Breakfast Show
(executive producer)
As actor:
[15]
- 1980 –
Making Weekend of Summer Last
? Narrator
As himself:
[15]
- 1989 –
60 Minutes
Episode dated 29 April 1989 (TV Series)
- 1992 –
Australia's Funniest Home Videos
(TV Series)
- 1992 –
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos
(TV Series)
- 1994 –
Mulray
(TV Series)
- 1996 –
Beauty and the Beast
(TV Series)
- 2000 –
The Basement
(TV Series)
- 2002 –
The Fat
Episode #5.2 (TV Series)
- 2005 –
Starstruck
(TV Series)
- 2007 –
Getaway
15th Birthday Special (TV Series)
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
ARIA Music Awards
[
edit
]
The
ARIA Music Awards
are a set of annual ceremonies presented by
Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the
music of Australia
. They commenced in 1987.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Aussie comedian, television and radio giant Doug Mulray dies aged 71"
.
celebrity.nine.com.au
. Retrieved
30 March
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Meade, Amanda (31 March 2023).
"Australian entertainer Doug Mulray dies aged 71"
.
The Guardian
.
- ^
"Interview ? Doug Mulray"
.
www.mediaman.com.au
. Media Man Australia. 18 June 2003
. Retrieved
13 December
2016
.
- ^
"When did Doug Mulray work for 2AD in Armidale?"
.
anguskidman.show
. 2 April 2023
. Retrieved
3 April
2023
.
- ^
"Doug Mulray, Broadcasting and Radio Legend"
.
Mediaman.com.au
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Amy Ripley (31 March 2023).
"
'Uncle Doug' Mulray was Australian Radio royalty"
.
Sydney Morning Herald
.
- ^
March, Brad (13 April 2014).
"The Top 20 Metro FM Breakfast shows of all time"
.
www.radiotoday.com.au
. Retrieved
12 December
2016
.
- ^
Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos (Aired: 3.9.1992)
, retrieved
2 March
2024
- ^
"Worst of TV"
.
The Bulletin
. NineMSN. Archived from
the original
on 10 January 2008
. Retrieved
14 November
2007
.
- ^
Browne, Rachel.
"Oh, lucky man"
.
WAtoday
. Retrieved
14 November
2016
.
- ^
"1988 Tooheys 1000 ? Mount Panorama-Drama with Doug Mulray"
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 21 December 2021
. Retrieved
11 November
2016
.
- ^
Holland, Mal (30 August 2008).
"Kerry wouldn't have aired 's&#t'
"
.
The Daily Telegraph
.
News Limited
. Archived from
the original
on 18 September 2008
. Retrieved
31 August
2008
.
- ^
"
'Radio royalty' Doug Mulray dead at 71"
.
The New Daily
. 31 March 2023
. Retrieved
6 April
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Peaks in Australia:
- What a Rude Album
,
2 Rude
and "You Are Soul":
Kent, David
(1993).
Australian Chart Book 1970?1992
(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 211.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6
.
- Nice Legs Shame About the Fez
:
"Discography Doug Mulray"
.
australian-charts.com
. Retrieved
30 August
2022
.
- "Werewolf":
Ryan, Gavin (2011).
Australia's Music Charts 1988?2010
(PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 196.
- ^
a
b
c
Doug Mulray
at
IMDb
- ^
"ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release"
. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)
. Retrieved
17 April
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]